The radiation protection industry is constantly driven by regulatory requirements and evolving customer needs. In this piece, William Johnston, our Managing Director, takes a closer look at some trends he sees happening in 2018.

Changes to IEC 2016 standards

In January 2018, concerns were raised within the industry that the testing methodology implemented in September 2106 for IEC:61331-2-2014 was too stringent. The outcome from the auditing bodies was that compliant material from both the original IEC testing and the updated guidance notes of September 2016, would be blindly tested. This means that unmarked and unbranded products will be sent for retesting. All of AmRay’s products are fully compliant to IEC:61331-2-2014 (with additional testing guidance notes issues in Sept 2016), so we don’t foresee any changes to this in the foreseeable future, but if there are we will immediately ensure all our products meet the required standards.

Eyewear regulations

EP Europace has recently recommended practical ways to lower the radiation dose for patients and staff during device implantations and electrophysiological procedures. They suggest that the customisation of the X-ray system, workflow adaptations, and shielding measures can be implemented in the cath lab to help this. This is an area that will see growing interest during 2018.

Growth of chronic back pain

As noted by the American Journal of Roentgenology, anecdotal experience has suggested that back pain in radiologists may result from extensive wearing of lead aprons. In the study it was stated that 52% of those surveyed, who wore their aprons for more than 10 hours a week, experienced back pain. This is an area that will have to be watched carefully. Products such as our Light Plus aprons which weigh 15% less than traditional lead aprons or our Supreme range, which are 100% lead free, are a simple solution to help this problem.

Supreme lead free protection

With the growth in demand for the lightest and most comfortable apron, while maintaining the highest IEC standards, AmRay have launched a protective apron which is 100% lead free. It offers the user ultimate protection by using the innovative lead free Bi-Layer technology. This works very successfully in the range of 50-110 KeV and also offers the user a higher level of protection against secondary or scatter radiation.

Traceability software

Many hospitals and clinics could have hundreds of aprons in stock, meaning keeping track of all these can be time consuming. This is why we have produced A-Track, an easy- to-use system to manage, track, and document the inspections of all of their Radiation Protection Garments. We will be announcing the launch of this very soon so keep an eye on our posts for updates!

The AmRay Group is internationally recognised as a market leader in providing X-Ray protection solutions for medical, healthcare and industrial applications. Find out more here. 

Read this post in French here